Change the Future Part One
by Fyrrestarr
Summary: Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione go back in time to the age of the Marauders to try and change the future
1. Chapter 1

**The Beginning**

It was 7 weeks after the battle of Hogwarts. Everyone was immensely devastated. Four people though decided to do something about it though and find a way to go back and change the outcome. Finally after much researching they had come up with the answer. With seven books, a large supply of Polyjuice potion, and a powerful time-turner, they were ready to go.

"Ron? Hermione? You guys ready to go?" questioned Ginny Weasley.

"Yes, we are, we're apparating over right now," came a girl's voice from the other side of the green fire. A second later, Ron and Hermione appeared with a loud crack.

"Hey guys," shouted a voice from a different room, "I'm in the kitchen." They all went to the kitchen and found Harry putting the last touches on the Polyjuice potion.

Ron reached over and dropped two packets in front of Harry, "Got the hairs you and Ginny need, took 'em from some sandy-haired bloke and his girlfriend from over at the beach. Harry, you're now Oliver. Ginny, you're now Katie"

Hermione gave Ron a dirty look, shook her head, and stated, "By Oliver and Katie he actually means Oliver Wood and Katie Bell. Funny isn't it how those names sound so familiar?"

"You don't mean to say that you actually stole hairs from Oliver and Katie…. from Hogwarts… as in the ones from Gryffindor's quidditch team?" Ginny gasped.

"Yup! None other than those two," Ron said through a huge grin. After laughing loudly for several minutes at Ron's idiocy, Harry split the Polyjuice into two small containers that were spelled with an undetectable extension charm.

"Everyone remember the plan?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Of course. I get Remus. Ron gets Sirius. Harry gets James. And you get Lily," Ginny replied. With that said, they added the hairs to the Polyjuice potion, took a drink, and began to change.

"Blimey mate, don't you look different than usual," Ron pointed out sarcastically, grinning widely. Harry and Ginny had completely transformed, even their voices didn't sound like usual, thanks to the powerful potency of the Polyjuice potion.

The four of them gathered around and checked to make sure they had all of their belongings and books that would be needed. Then after multiple turns of time they disappeared to go back in time…..to the age of the Marauders.

**Author's Note: I know this story is short, but I promise the next ones will be longer. This was just supposed to be an introduction chapter. Also, please review and tell me how it is or review with any suggestions you have. One last thing, sorry for the keep changing it, this is the last time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Gathering the Marauders (minus Peter, plus Lily)**

Remus Lupin and Lily Evans were sitting at a large brown table in the expansive Hogwarts library. Books were spread everywhere on the table. Pieces of parchment with notes on them were also scattered. Even though they were doing homework, they were having fun, which is until the strangest thing happened. All of a sudden, all their belongings were swooped into a towering stack and then disappeared.

"Hey! Who did that?" yelled Remus, looking around angrily. He and Lily both looked around, but saw no one doing anything out of the ordinary. Everyone else was studying or sending them dirty looks for shouting in the library.

"It was us," Hermione stated timidly as she and Ginny stepped out from behind a bookcase. Both were slightly trembling in fear, seeing as they had heard from both Sirius and Remus about Lily's temper.

"WHY DID YOU TAKE OUR BOOKS?" Lily shouted, "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO DO THAT? DID POTTER PUT YOU UP TO IT?"

Ginny cringed before saying, "You see, it was necessary, to get your attention that is…"

She barely finished her sentence, when Lily interrupted again, "YOU COULD HAVE JUST COME UP AND TALKED TO US THEN!"

"Lily, calm down, please. Who are you two? I have never seen you before at Hogwarts and you look old enough to be in 7th year, "Remus stated in his usual calm voice.

Hermione sighed and then turned to look at Ginny, "How much should we tell them now? I don't really know if we decided on how to tell them."

"TELL US WHAT? WHO ARE YOU? I swear if Potter put you up to this I'm going to kill him. Who does he think he is playing stupid pranks on me…paying people to come and steal my homework…doesn't he know I'm going to fail all my classes….he's so stupid..." Lily continued to mutter under her breath at how stupid and irresponsible James Potter was, whereas Remus looked thoughtful.

Remus decided to try again, "Who are you guys? And what do you mean by 'tell them now' and 'how to tell them.' We'd really like to know what's going on. Also, can we have our books back? We have lots of studying to do."

Ginny laughed, "Haha, lots of studying. You guys do know that it is Christmas break, don't you? And I know for sure that the teachers that are teaching during this time don't assign many assignments…" Her voice faded as she realized what she just said.

"What do you mean by 'teachers that are teaching during this time'? That doesn't make sense at all. Who else would be teaching?" Remus inquired. _"I wonder what is going on. They aren't saying anything. And if I wasn't suspicious before, I definitely am now," _He thought to himself.

"Oh, sorry about that… That's just how people talk where I'm from. All weird and…yeah…" Ginny tried to cover up what she had said.

"Ahem!" It was Madame Pince, "Just what do you think you are doing wreaking havoc in the library? Especially you Miss Evans. This is a sacred place of learning. If you cannot hold a civil conversation quietly, than get out!"

Hermione spoke up, "We are very sorry. Perhaps we should take this conversation into the corridor." As she said this she gave meaningful look at Ginny, who nodded in return. With that said the two of them turned around and walked out of the library. Remus and Lily watched them leave, more confused now than ever.

"Do you trust them enough to follow them, Rems?" Lily asked.

Remus spent a few seconds pondering it, "I think so, but I'm not sure. They evaded all questions are and were pretty cryptic. But on the other hand, if they wanted to hurt us, they wouldn't have spent so long talking to us. Also, they looked like they had to tell us something important. So, I think we should follow them, for now anyways. Besides, if they try to attack us, we always have your charms skills and my run-away-screaming skills." Lily laughed and agreed. They walked to the entrance of the corridor with their wands at their sides, just in case, and paused when they heard voices.

"Hermione, we have to tell them something! We can't just expect them to blindly follow us!"

"No Ginny, we are doing this Harry's way. We'll tell them stuff when we are all together, but until then we say nothing."

"Harry doesn't know what he wants though! And why are you listening to him anyways. If he had his way, he'd do everything by himself with nobody to help! Anyways, you know from when Remus was alive how suspicious and pessimistic he was of everything! We have to give him something to trust us with. And if Harry is anything like Lily, then of course she is going to be vigilant and not trust us."

"As they very well shouldn't, these are dangerous times for them. That's not the point. The point is that we do this Harry's way because it's his parents and their friends."

Remus decided to speak up rather than continue listening, "Ahem. Um, you wanted to talk to us…" Hermione and Ginny whirled around to look at them.

"How long were you listening to us?" demanded Ginny. Lily looked angry, while Remus looked abashed.

Lily spoke up first, "Long enough to make us not trust you. Who are you? Who's Harry? What do you mean by 'when Remus was alive'? What do you mean by doing it Harry's way because it is 'his parents and his friends'? You'd better tell us answers now or we'll have to take you to the headmaster under charges of plotting something dangerous."

"Whoa Lils, let's not go that far…yet."

"Well, unless they start talking Rems, it will go that far."

Ginny laughed, "Oh, I'd so love to see Albus; that would be fantastic! Just imagine what he looks like Hermione!"

"Shush please. Lily, Remus. I know this is hard for you to understand, but I promise we will explain everything as soon as we meet up with Ron and our other friend. So, can you please just trust us for now? Just until we explain everything?" Hermione pleaded. Remus and Lily agreed after exchanging wary looks. With that settled Hermione and Ginny led them up to the sixth floor and the room of requirements to sit and wait for Harry, Ron, Sirius, and James.

**Author's Note: Please review. This is my first time writing a fan fiction, so I'm not sure how it's going. **

**Next Chapter: Ron and Harry go get Sirius and James, but run into some trouble…**


	3. Chapter 3

**Gathering the Marauders (minus Peter, plus Lily){Part Two}**

"Hey Harry, where do you think they could be?" Ron asked. Harry shrugged in response and turned down the next corridor. Ron sighed; Harry seemed to be brooded again, so he would probably have to talk to himself until Harry snapped out of it.

"Well, whenever you are done brooding Harry, not that it's a problem of course, I mean after all you are going to meet your parents who you never got to meet. And of course this is your first time back at Hogwarts since the war. But you know, whenever you are done, don't forget I'm here for you to talk to and you socialize with. And now that I'm rambling to myself I'll just pretend I know what the plan is and what your code name is, cause you never told me it…" Ron kept on muttering on his breath, not watching where they were going as they turned down corridor after corridor. He was so focused on his grumbling that he didn't notice Harry had stopped until he crashed into him.

"Hey! Why are you stopping so suddenly?"

"Hmm? Sorry, I was just thinking of where we could find my dad and Sirius. I know they spent a lot of time out on the grounds, especially at the willow tree by the lake, so we could check out there. Then again, it seems like a quiet day, and Sirius told me that whenever days were too quiet, they would stir up some trouble with pranks. So we should probably head towards the grounds or the Gryffindor common room while keeping an ear open for any screaming, yelling, or bark-like laughter." Ron nodded in agreement, chuckling slightly because he knew how Harry only rambled when he was extremely nervous. They continued down the corridor, heading towards the Gryffindor common room.

After a few more minutes of walking, a scream rang through the air. Ron and Harry took one sideways glance at each other and began to run towards the sound. They found the source of the screaming outside of Professor McGonagall's transfiguration classroom. A group of Slytherins along with Professor McGonagall were covered in bright red and gold slime that smelled like rotten eggs left to bake in the sun for many days.

"Marauders! Where are you?" shouted Professor McGonagall, "I know you are around here somewhere! AHA! There you are Potter and you too Black! Get over here right now!" Harry and Ron looked around, waiting to see where James and Sirius were, but they couldn't find them. Maybe they had a charm on them that only McGonagall could see through.

"Quit looking around like a bumbling band of baboons, I already see you, so get over here.

Ron glanced over at Harry, "Is she talking to…us?"

Harry nodded, "I don't see why though, we don't look anything like them."

"Um Harry… You do. The potion must've worn off already and now since you look like your father, Professor must think you are him. We'd better go explain because if looks could kill, we'd be dead mate." Harry gave a curt nod and they walked over to Professor McGonagall to try and talk their way out of whatever punishment they were about to receive.

Meanwhile, over in the corner next to a suit of armor, something else was happening. One boy with messy black hair and round glasses was restraining, with much difficulty, another boy with black hair.

"Prongs! Let me go! We can't let them take credit for our prank! That's just so un-marauder-ish that it borders on traitor-ism!" Sirius Black was quite obviously upset, but on the other hand, James Potter was very intrigued.

"But Padfoot! Look! That one boy looks exactly like me except for his eyes and his scarred forehead! Who is he? We have to find out! It's a quest! Let's follow them! And then once we find out who they are we can declare war on them! After all, how dare they try to take credit for our lovely and wondrous prank!"

"Great idea! Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go! Quickly! Before they disappear!" They quickly followed after McGonagall and the two apprehended boys. They turned down corridor after corridor until they finally reached Professor McGonagall's official office. After the three of them were seated, McGonagall began her lecture…or at least tried to. She had only opened her mouth to speak when Ron interrupted her.

"Professor, I know you think we did that, but we didn't. It was Black and Potter…well, elder Potter really since Harry wasn't here earlier. And even if he had be here early enough he still wouldn't have set off that prank, especially since he and I are here on a mission to…"

McGonagall chose that moment to cut him off, "Mr. Black, what in the world are you going on about?"

"Well you see… it kind of goes like this."

Harry interrupted, "Nevermind about that. Professor, we aren't James Potter or Sirius Black. We don't know where they are, but if you help us find them, that would be great help."

"Honestly boys, do you think telling me that you aren't Mr. Potter and Mr. Black is going to get you out of trouble, especially when I can clearly see that you are Mr. Potter." This caused both Harry and Ron to sigh. This was definitely not going as planned and to make matters even worse Hermione and Ginny were probably going to kill them when they finally saw them again, since they were incredibly late.

Ron spoke up after a few seconds of silence, "Why not use the map? Or the cloak?"

"That's a good idea. Accio Cloak and Map!"

Over in the corner, James and Sirius struggled to keep hold of the two named objects, but alas were unsuccessful; and they were revealed as the cloak and map soared over to Harry. And that was when McGonagall lost her temper. All four of them sat through a very long lecture, which in James and Sirius's opinions was one of the best lectures ever. During the lecture, Harry took some more Polyjuice potion as McGonagall was focused on James and Sirius, to fix his appearance before they had to go through some uncomfortable explanations.

After being assigned a month's worth of detention (at least for James and Sirius), the four of them were let go. It was quite late in the day and Ron and Harry were very worried as to what would happen to them when they finally met back with Ginny and Hermione. They had only left Professor McGonagall's room, when the duo began their interrogation of Ron and Harry.

"Who are you guys?"

"And why did you look so much like James?"

"Why were you looking for us?"

"Ooh! Are you stalkers?"

"Why didn't McGonagall know you guys?"

"Ooh! Are you transfers?"

"Did Dumbledore send you to us so we could guide you around the school?"

"Ooh! Do we get to be your mentors?"

"Padfoot, why do you keep saying 'Ooh'?"

"Hmm, I don't know, but its lots of fun, you should try it!"

"Umm…guys I don't mean to interrupt, but…." Ron started to say.

"Then why do you?" asked Sirius.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you said that you don't mean to interrupt, so why did you? I mean if you didn't want to interrupt you shouldn't have. And if you did mean to interrupt us, why did you say that you didn't mean to? After all it is just too confusing either way."

"Did that make sense to anyone?" asked Harry.

James took this moment to speak up, "Ignore him, he does that often. No, but in all seriousness not, what did you guys want and who are you?"

Harry looked at Ron who nodded. "Follow us and we'll explain everything."

"Fine, we'll follow you for now, but where are we going? Can you at least tell us that?" James replied.

"We need to go to the Room of Requirement."

With that said the four of them headed for the sixth floor, the Room of Requirement, and probably a very angry Ginny and Hermione.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry it took so long to update. Please review. **

**Next Chapter: They begin reading the first chapter of the first book…after a little discussion.**


	4. Authors Note

**Okay, so this summer has been really, really hectic. I know that's no excuse, but it is what it is. However, I finally have some down time and I have lightened up my schedule by a lot, so I am going to work on continuing this story. The next chapter will be up as soon as I get done with it, which might not be for a while, but it'll happen.**

**~Fyrrestarr**


	5. Chapter 4

**COPYRIGHT NOTICE: I do NOT own Harry Potter. The characters and the book all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I am only putting my spin on the characters.**

**Chapter One: The Boy Who Lived**

They finally arrived at the Room of Requirement and as they predicted Ginny and Hermione were not very happy with them...at all.

"Where were you guys? We've been waiting for over an hour!" Ginny asked, her voice dangerously even, as she walked up to them and put her hands on her hips. Harry and Ron knew that there was no way they would make it out alive unless they gave the answers she wanted. Even Sirius and James seemed frightened, for they knew very well of the temper that belongs to a red head.

"Well…..um…" Ron began

"You see….. it kind of….." Harry continued.

"Something sort of…"

"Almost…."

"Very nearly…."

"Almost disastrous….."

"No, not quite that bad Harry."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite. If it had been…."

"Ah, true."

With each exchange between Ron and Harry; Hermione, Ginny, and Lily became slightly angrier before they finally shouted, "SPIT IT OUT!"

"Ah, you see….." Ron tried to explain.

"No it's really my fault, and Sirius's. We ended up getting caught in a little mix-up with them and old Minnie," James interjected.

Lily snorted, "Ha, should have known it would have Potter and Black. They just can't stop causing trouble." That's when Ginny decided it was time to intervene. She had the Room of Requirement conjure up comfortable chairs and couches for everyone and forced everyone to take a seat. After a few minutes and some grumbling, they were all seated. James and Sirius were sitting on one couch; Harry and Hermione were on the next couch. Remus and Lily chose to sit in chairs, while Ginny and Ron sat on the last couch. The room had taken on the look and feel of the Gryffindor common room.

"Okay, now that we are all seated we will answer some of your questions," Hermione stated, "But only some. Some answers will have to wait until later."

Sirius spoke up first, "Who are you guys?"

"That's Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. I'm Oliver," Harry said pointing at each person as he said their name.

"Where are you from? Why are you here? Why do you guys want to talk to us?" Lily questioned.

Hermione answered, "We're all from a long ways away. It took some time to get here. We are here to end a long road of pain and suffering and heartache. We want to end the war before it begins. As for why we want to talk to you four...well, you guys play a big role and you'll decide the outcome of the war based on how you react to the information we are going to give you."

"War...so it will become a war. What information do you have to give us?"

Ginny spoke, "Well, all the information you need to know, we are actually going to read these books."

Sirius groaned, "I don't like reading. Reading is for nerds like Red or Moony."

"A little reading won't kill you, Padfoot," Remus laughed. And with that Ginny picked up the first book to begin reading what was sure to be a difficult book to hear, a difficult book to understand, and what was going to be a huge eye opener for the marauders and Lily.

**"****Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"**

Ginny was immediately interrupted by James. "Wait, did you say Potter? Like my last name? There's no Potter that was ever named Harry."

"Would you just be quite and listen, Potter? She has even gotten past the title," Lily snapped.

**Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived **

"GAH! What a BORING chapter title! I don't wanna some history book. I mean, really, everyone lives, and if that's as good as the titles are gonna get, this is sure to be ultra dull," Sirius complained.

"Oh be quiet, Padfoot."

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. **

Remus looked at Lily thoughtfully, "Isn't your sister getting named to some portly bloke named Dursley?"

Lily nodded, "Well, yes, but this book can't be about them. They aren't that interesting that they could have a whole book written about them."

"Well, is it about the Ginny?" Sirius asked.

"You shall just have to wait and see."

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

"Well, it's officially. It's got to be my sister. Only she would name her kid as something as awful as Dudley."

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. **

"Lily-flower, why would your sister and her husband be worried about people finding out about my family?" James questioned.

"How about you guys just be quiet and listen to find out. I mean really we've only got through 4 paragraphs and it's taken us a long time," Hermione suggested.

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, **

"WHOA! What did that just say? Can you read that again?" Sirius asked.

"Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister."

Lily looked slightly sick and James looked like he was trying to hide his elation.

"I'm going to be married…to POTTER?"

"Aw, Evans, you know you want to marry me."

"Ugh, never! You are so irritating! I would rather marry Diggle than you."

Harry spoke up for the first time, "Can we please just continue the story?"

**but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish **

"As if I'd want to be anything like them!" Lily snorted.

**as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

Sirius looked up, "A child like what?"

Lily sighed, "My sister finds magic and anything related to magic an abomination. It's a huge abnormality to her and completely unacceptable. It's likely that if I have any children, they will also have magic. So, she wouldn't want her children to be around mine."

"That's really stupid."

"Haha, thanks Black."

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, **

"I thought the story already had started," muttered Sirius.

**there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie**

James looked at Lily, "Why is he choosing his most boring tie for work? Wouldn't you want to wear something exciting?"

"Not Vernon, Potter. He enjoys being boring. The more boring something it the more 'normal' it is. And the more normal something is, all the better," Lily explained.

Ginny continued reading, **for work and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.**

Sirius and James laughed at that.

"Well, of course he would throw cereal. Who wouldn't?" said James.

Ron shook his head, "Some of it's really good though. And it's like food, you can't waste any food. It's just meant to be eaten."

"I totally agree with you. You are my new best friend. Sorry Prongs," Sirius stated.

James looked shocked, "You're… dumping me…..over cereal?"

Remus decided it was time to put an end to the conversation. He knew how dramatic and long Prongs and Padfoot could make their "breakup" speeches. "You guys. Break up later. Read now."

"Awww….Moony's jealous…But I suppose he is right. Continue this boring account of the Dursleys."

"**Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat reading a map.**

"MINNIE!" screamed James and Sirius, "MINNIE IS AT THE DURSLEYS!"

"SHUSH!"

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen — then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive — no, **_**looking **_**at the sign; cats couldn't read maps **_**or **_**signs.**

"Haha, of course not. Cause that wouldn't be _normal _now would it," Lily muttered bitterly.

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdoes standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together.**

"Lily-flower, dear, what's wrong with cloaks?" Sirius questioned.

"First of all, don't call me Lily-flower. Second of all, don't call me dear. Third of all, cloaks aren't really worn in the muggle world."

**Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt —these people were obviously collecting for something… yes that would be it.**

**The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.**

"Out of all the lovely things to think about in the world and he chooses drills, how pathetic," mumbled James.

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. **_**He **_**didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead.**

**Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"You know Padfoot, I think he likes to shout."

"You know Prongs, I think you might be right."

"You know Padfoot, I think I am."

"You know Prongs, I think that's a very strong possibility."

"You know Padfoot, I think I am 100% correct."

"CAN YOU GUYS JUST BE QUIET?" shouted Lily and Ginny. James and Sirius nodded meekly….red-heads were scary when they were angry.

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy.**

**This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

"**The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard —"**

" — **yes, their son, Harry —"**

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead.**

"…. The Potters…. Why are they talking about my family?" James asked.

"There probably are other families with the last name Potter."

"There's not. My mum did a genie… something or other…"

Lily chuckled, "A genealogy chart."

"Yeah that. And we found out that anyone with the last name Potter is related to us."

"Prongs?"

"Yeah Padfoot?"

"Your stories are boring. Shut up."

"Can we continue reading?" Harry asked. Everyone nodded, so Ginny continued.

**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.**

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid.**

**Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew **_**was **_**called Harry.**

**He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.**

"Ugh, those are awful names. I would never name my kid Harvey or Harold."

"But it's not talking about your kids, Prongs."

"Moony my pal…..I know. But still. Who would name their kid that?"

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her — if **_**he'd **_**had a sister like that… but all the same, those people in cloaks…**

**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

"**Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. **

**On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last!**

"Voldemort's gone….." whispered Lily.

"HURRAY!" shouted the marauders. Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and Harry let them have their little celebration. They knew that soon the celebrating would end when they found out about Lily and James's deaths and then there would be very little to celebrate for a long while. After awhile, everyone calmed down and the reading began again.

**Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!" And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

"Hehehe…." snickered Sirius, "The fat man got a hug and now he's losing his mind. Hehehe…."

"Oh Sirius. Be quite." Hermione said.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw—and it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning.**

"That's Minnie!" whispered James to Sirius.

**It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

"Definitely Minnie!" Sirius whispered back.

"**Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. **"**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**

"Haha, of course she gave him a stern look. That's just how Minnie is." James whispered.

**Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!"). Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

"_**And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**_

"_**Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**_

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…**

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er — Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"**

**As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

James looked troubled and felt upset over this. He knew he would be devastated if Sirius pretended he didn't exist. He could only imagine how much worse it would be if they were actually blood brothers and had grown up together. _"Poor Lily," _he thought.

"**No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

"**Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…"**

"_**So?**_**" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

"**Well, I just thought… maybe… it was something to do with… you know… **_**her **_**crowd."**

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son — he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

"**I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

"**What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

James and Sirius gagged at the awful name.

"**Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"It's not that common. Besides, it's a nice name," Lily said.

"**Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

"Probably because Minnie is waiting for something," said Sirius, "Moony, what is she waiting for?"

Remus sighed, "Gee, I don't know. Why don't you listen and find out?"

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters **_**were **_**involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect **_**them**_**…** **How very wrong he was.**

"That doesn't sound good," observed Remus.

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

"That's a long time to sit still," chuckled Sirius to James. James nodded in agreement and they both turned their attention back to the book.

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

"YAY DUMBLEDORE!" cheered James and Sirius.

"Can you guys be quiet?" Lily snapped.

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop.**

Remus gasped, "No way! The deluminator actually exists!"

"What are you talking about, Remus?" asked Lily.

"It was supposedly invented by Dumbledore, but nobody has actually ever seen one. And Dumbledore has never confirmed that it's been invented."

**He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Deluminator, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Deluminator back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

"**Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

"Yay! I knew it was Minnie!"

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. "How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

"**My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

"**You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

"**All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

"**Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news."**

"Oh Minnie needs to lighten up. Voldemort's dead. People should be celebrating." James said.

**She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars… Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

"**You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**

"That's how long the war lasts?" Lily asked the time-travelers. They nodded sadly in return.

"**I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. **

"I would what she wants to know." murmured Remus.

**"A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really **_**has **_**gone, Dumbledore?"**

"**It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore.**

"**We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"**A **_**what**_**?"**

"A what?" asked James.

"A what?" questioned Sirius.

Ron explained, "It's food."

"**A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

"**No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who **_**has **_**gone —"**

"**My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: **_**Voldemort**_**."**

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name." **

"That's because there isn't! He's just some old fat-head," James declared.

Lily snorted, "Whatever you say Potter. Now hush."

**"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. **

**"But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, **_**Voldemort**_**, was frightened of."**

"**You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

"**Only because you're too — well —**_**noble **_**to use them."**

"**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my **

**new earmuffs."**

The marauders all thought that was hilarious. They burst out laughing.

"I know what Dumbledore is getting for Christmas now," gasped Sirius in between laughs.

"Definitely earmuffs," agreed Remus and James.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the **_**rumors **_**that are flying around. You know what they're saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. **

Remus leaned over by Lily and whispered, "I have a bad feeling about this." Lily nodded in agreement.

**Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

"**What they're **_**saying**_**," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that they're — **_**dead**_**."**

The marauders and Lily all gasped. They were all shaken by the last paragraph.

Ginny looked up, "We'll give you some time to process that. We'll be back in 15 minutes." With that said, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, went to a separate room in the Room of Requirement.

(By Lily and the marauders)

Lily burst into tears. At first the marauders didn't know what to do, but then James got up and went over to comfort her. He pulled her into his arms to hug her.

"Don't cry, Lils. It's okay." He continued to murmur comforting words to her. After a while she stopped crying. James picked her up and sat down on the couch with her.

"Sorry Potter," sniffled Lily.

He smiled. "Don't worry about it."

Sirius spoke up, "So….. you guys get married. And Voldemort kills both of you."

"That's awful," stated Remus bluntly, "Well, not the marrying part. The Voldemort killing you part."

James sighed deeply before speaking up, "Voldemort won't kill us. We won't let that happen. We know the future now, so we can change it." Lily nodded in agreement.

They all sat there in silence for a little while, taking in the information they were given.

Sirius finally nodded, "Okay. We got this. No problem. Voldemort won't kill James and Lily-flower. And they can live happily ever after with lots of kids all named after me." They all chuckled at that.

"Sirius, I won't be naming my kids after you," Lily said, "At least, none of their first names." They continued to talk until the time-travelers returned. They were a little shell-shocked, but they knew everything would work out in the end. The marauders especially noticed this because Lily was willingly sitting next to James with her head on his shoulder.

(With the time-travelers)

"Here Harry, take this." Hermione handed him his next dose of Polyjuice potion.

"How do you think they're reacting?" Ron asked.

"They are probably very upset about it, but they're strong and they'll be able to handle it," Ginny said.

Harry nodded in agreement, "They'll be just fine."

"So Harry, what's it like seeing your parents in person?" Hermione asked.

"It's good."

"That's all you can come up with, mate? Good?" Ron laughed.

"I don't know…it's weird. And they don't know it's me. But it's good. They're tangible now, you know?" Harry mumbled. They spent a few more minutes talking before they went back to the other half of the Room of Requirement.

"Are you guys okay?" Hermione asked the marauders and Lily. They all nodded.

"Could we continue reading please?" questioned Remus. Ginny opened to the book where they had left off. After winking at Harry, who had noticed his parents sitting next to each other, she began to read.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

"**Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…"**

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily.**

"I didn't know she cared," smirked Sirius.

Lily smiled, "Of course she does. I am one of her favorite Gryffindors after all."

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone."**

"We have a son…..and he defeats Voldemort?" whispered Lily.

"You do," answered Hermione.

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

"**It's — it's **_**true**_**?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"**We can only guess." said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

"I bet Dumbledore knows," said Remus, "He is a genius after all."

"He probably does have some idea," agreed Sirius.

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

"**Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me **_**why **_**you're here, of all places?"**

"**I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

"He's leaving my child with my sister?" Lily looked outraged, "She's such a vile person towards anything with magic and Vernon isn't much better! How on earth can Dumbledore even think of letting him stay there?"

**You don't mean – you **_**can't **_**mean the people who live **_**here**_**?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

"See! McGonagall knows how bad it would be for him!"

"**It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

"They would understand it though," whispered Lily sadly.

"**A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter?**

**These people will never understand him! He'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future — there will be books written about Harry — every child in our world will know his name!"**

"**Exactly." said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

"That's a valid point," said Remus.

"But still, with them?" asked Sirius, "That sounds like it would be even worse."

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

"**Hagrid's bringing him."**

"**You think it —**_**wise **_**— to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

"**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore. **

The marauders and Lily nodded in agreement. They all knew that while Hagrid was a bit eccentric, he had a good heart. When he was given an important task he always completed it, and he often did a better job than anyone else could have.

"**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

"I want one!" yelled Sirius

"SHH!"

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so **_**wild **_**— long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

"**Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

"**Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

"YES! I get a motorcycle!"

James whispered to Lily, "That's what our parents are giving him for his birthday."

"**No problems, were there?"**

"**No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets.**

**Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

"**Is that where —?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

"**Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

"At least it looks cool," muttered Sirius.

"**Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

"**Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with."**

"I'm so totally asking Dumbledore about that next time I see him," said James, much to everyone's amusement.

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.**

"**Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

"**Shhhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "You'll wake the Muggles!"**

"**S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it —Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles —"**

"Poor Hagrid."

"**Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two.**

**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

"I feel so bad for them. That must've been hard to do," said Remus.

"But it had to be done. At least they think it did," said James, slightly bitterly.

"**Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

"**Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

"**I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Deluminator. **

"I want one," whispered Remus.

**He clicked it once and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps; so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

"**Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley… He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter — the boy who lived!"**

**Author's Note:** I am so sorry it took so long to update. I really am. I'm such a scatter-brain. And then between school and work and writer's block. But anyways, please review.

Also, if you have any suggestions or hints or helpful comments or critiques, please let me know.

**Next Chapter:** The reaction to the first chapter and the reading of the second chapter.


	6. Chapter 5

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to Dumbledore's Beard, Mor de interficio silvam, AliceInRavenclaw, MuggleCreator, WaffleLovesCheese23, Bramblestar's Daughter, and I Love Being A Bookworm whom have reviewed the last few chapters. And even if you haven't, thank you for taking the time to read. I apologize for the extremely long delay in updating. I wish I could say there was an excuse, but there isn't really, just writer's block and no time. Anyways, read on and enjoy!**

**COPYRIGHT NOTICE: I do NOT own Harry Potter. The characters and the book all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I am only putting my spin on the characters.**

* * *

><p>"So, that's the end of the first chapter," Ginny said, closing the book, "Thoughts? Reactions? Need a break? Need some food?"<p>

"FOOD!" yelled Sirius.

James and Remus laughed while Lily rolled her eyes. Sirius was always hungry. His appetite was legendary at Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and even at the shops in Diagon Alley.

"Okay, let's head down to the kitchens and ask the house elves to make us some food," Harry said as he led the way out of the Room of Requirement.

Lily looked puzzled, "The kitchens? Do you know where the kitchens are? And if so, how? I thought you didn't go to school here."

"I know where the kitchens are! I can take you there my fair lady!"

"Shut up, Sirius. I wasn't asking you," Lily said with a smile. Sirius huffed, crossed his arms, and muttered "meanie" under his breath.

"To answer your question, yes we know where the kitchens are. We learned where they are from a pair of red-headed twins during their 5th year here at Hogwarts," Hermione said, "So, off we go." A few minutes later, they were all sitting at a round table in the kitchens, waiting for the house-elves to bring them some food.

Ron leaned forward, "So, what are you guys thinking right now?" The marauders and Lily sighed.

Remus looked up, "Well, since nobody is bothering to talk first, I'll go. Questions: Where am I in the story? Where is Sirius? Where is Peter? Why was Harry not left to one of us? Where is Peter in real life now; why isn't he reading the books with us? Do James and Lily really get married and have a son? Does the war really last eleven years? Why are you guys bringing the books back to read them with us? Are you guys in the story?"

He took a deep breath, about to continue, when Ginny spoke up. "You, Sirius, and…Peter will all show up in the books eventually. Harry couldn't be left to you because there were extenuating circumstances, which will be explained eventually. Peter's not here, because…well… that'll be explained later too. Yes, James and Lily do get married, and they do have a son. Yes, the war really lasts eleven years, unless you guys can change that now. We are bringing the books back because it was our idea and it's also partly our story to tell. So, yes, we'll be in the tale, later though."

"If you are all part of the book, does that mean you guys are the 'main characters,' so to say?"

Ginny nodded, "All of us play major roles in Harry's life, well, except Oliver. He's not too important." Harry stuck his tongue out at Ginny, knowing that was a blatant lie. He probably played the most important role in his own life.

"Then why's he here?"

"Padfoot! You can't just ask someone that!"

"It's fine. It'll be explained eventually," Harry laughed. "Okay, moving on…reactions to the first chapter? Are you all okay to keep reading?" The marauders and Lily nodded solemnly in return. Sadness shone in their eyes at the news of James and Lily's death.

Lily spoke up this time, "We can keep reading. If this is information we need to know, then we can keep going no matter how hard it is."

Hermione nodded. "Okay. Let's eat and then we can head back to the room." For a while, they all forgot about the books and just spent the time with old friends and new. After filling themselves with food, they all trudged back to the Room of Requirement and got settled on the couches and chairs.

Ginny held up the book, "Okay, who wants to read this time?"

"I will." Harry took the book from her and opened up to the second chapter.

"**Chapter Two: The Vanishing Glass,"**

"Accidental magic? Yay!" exclaimed Sirius.

Remus sighed, "If you insist on interrupting, at least wait until there has been some information given or something exciting has happened. I mean, really, we're only five words into the chapter." Harry cleared his throat quietly and continued on.

"**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls."**

"**Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. **

"That's it? Only the photographs? They haven't painted or reorganized the rooms or anything?" James exclaimed. "Why not?"

Sirius laughed, "Ahh, Prongs. I don't think anyone else other than Moony and I know about your obsession."

Sticking his tongue out at Sirius, "It's not an obsession," James replied.

"Um, if I ever end up married to this idiot, what sort of weird obsession is this that I should know about," Lily asked.

"He has a ridiculous love for rearranging things every week or so. Our dorm room is always looking different. And he always becomes really crabby if someone interrupts him on 'rearranging' day."

Lily chuckled, "Oh goodness. I always knew you were a slight nutter, Potter, but never how much."

"Oliver, please continue the story before this lot takes the mickey out me anymore." James pleaded. Harry laughed and obliged.

"**Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets"**

Sirius and James looked at each other with mischievous gleams in their eyes. At the same time, they opened their mouths to make a comment about this, but before they could, Ginny pulled out her wand and silenced them, earning a frown.

"**but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too."**

"WHAT?" screeched Lily, "No sign at all? Who does she think she is, pretending that Harry doesn't exist?"

Harry laughed harshly, thinking of all the work and chores that his aunt had made him do. "Oh no, she knows that he exists. She is very much aware of it. She just doesn't want anyone else to know that he exists." The marauders and Lily all swapped confused glances at the bitterness they heard in "Oliver's" voice, while the time traveler's exchanged sad looks.

"**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day."**

**"Up! Get up! Now!" Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again, "Up!" she screeched."**

"Ugh! How rude! Why would you wake someone up like that?"

"**Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before."**

"That's me!" Sirius exclaimed, "That's not a dream! That's me! He remembers me!"

Remus snickered, "Well, technically not. He only remembers a motorcycle. And he thinks it was a dream." Sirius only maturely stuck out his tongue and turned away.

"**His aunt was back outside the door."**

**"Are you up yet?" she demanded. **

**"Nearly," said Harry. **

**"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

They all guffawed at the horrible nickname Dudley had been given. It was by far the worst nickname they had ever heard for someone. Everyone laughed for a few minutes before they James realized what had been said before the nickname.

"He's only ten years old and they're making him cook? Why?" James asked sadly. None of the time-travelers knew how to answer that, but they all looked expectantly at Harry, hoping he could maybe answer.

Harry took a breath, "Well, he had actually been cooking since he was six. Um, Petunia and Vernon weren't and still aren't the nicest of people and they were very lazy. It was like they had their own little un-paid worker with Harry."

"How do you know so much about Harry's life?" Remus asked.

Harry grinned, "It'll be explained later."

"**Harry groaned."**

"**What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door." **

**"Nothing, nothing..." **

"**Dudley's birthday - how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on."**

"Ew!"

They all grimaced; even magic didn't keep spiders away well. They someone managed to show up.

"**Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept."**

"Please tell me this is a joke," Lily pleaded. "They didn't make him sleep in the small cupboard did they?" Her eyes shone with tears.

"Hermione, can you take this one?" Harry whispered to her.

Hermione nodded in response to both Harry and Lily's questions. "Yes, they did. For the first ten years of his life that is where he stayed."

"How completely unacceptable! How dare they treat Harry like that! Are they even human?" shouted James.

He continued fuming until Ron spoke up. "They are rather awful people and they hate magic and anything that has to do with magic, so they took it out on Harry. Not abusing him or anything, just mistreating him and treating him as a lower life form."

Harry continued reading before anyone could say anything else. It was odd and slightly uncomfortable for him to hear people upset and angry over his life with the Dursley's.

"**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise"**

This made them all chuckle.

"Looks like Harry's got some of yours and Lily's sass, Prongs," said Remus.

"**- unless of course it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast."**

"Ugh! How dare he try to use my son as a punching bag!" fumed Lily.

"**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age."**

"Like Prongs."

"**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobby knees, black hair, and bright green eyes."**

"Like Prongs, only without the oversized clothes."

"I also have hazel eyes, not green, Padfoot."

"Oh yeah. Forgive me for not knowing that. I don't really make a habit of staring into your eyes."

"You should. After all, I have been told they are luminous."

"I'm sure they are. I shall endeavor to gaze into your eyes more often than I have been."

"Why thank you! And make sure you tell me how beautiful they are!"

"I definitely will!"

Ginny cleared her throat loudly, "If I can break of this little love fest, is it all right with you if we continue reading?"

"Of course, Miss Ginny!" answered James and Sirius in unison.

"**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose."**

Everyone except the time-travellers glared at the book. How dare Dudley use his cousin as a punching bag. James was especially upset because he knew just how hard it was to have broken glasses.

"**The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning."**

Sirius looked at Harry, "Don't you have a lightning shaped scar too, Oliver?"

"What?"

"Yeah, when we first met you guys in McGonagall's office, didn't you have a scar?" James chimed in.

"Uh. No. I don't have a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt," lied Harry and then he continued reading, after a quick drink of Polyjuice potion.

"**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it. **

**"In the car crash when your parents died," she had said."**

"A car crash? Tuney told Harry that we died in a car crash?" Ginny nodded glumly in response.

"**"And don't ask questions." Don't ask questions - that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys."**

"**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon, "Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting."**

This received a laugh from all but James, who also knew the pain of having extremely unruly and wild hair.

"**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way - all over the place."**

"Cough, Prongs, cough…"

"Leave my mum and her obsessive haircuts out of this!"

"**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel - Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig."**

This caused another round of laughter among everyone.

"Ahh, your son is so cheeky, Lils," said Remus.

Sirius snickered, "Your nephew Lily is a pig in a wig. And apparently so is his father…"

"Oh, be quiet, Black!"

"**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell." **

"'**Thirty-six,' he said, looking up at his mother and father. 'That's two less than last year.'"**

**"'Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy.'" **

**"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over."**

"**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, Popkin. Two more presents. Is that all right?""**

"So… Dudley's a sprightly eleven year old then… He can turn over tables and he's in shape… And his nicknames clearly reflect his strength."

Lily groaned, "Ugh! She always spoiled small children when we babysat together. No wonder her son is fat. She probably never says no."

"**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work."**

"It is. It's very, very hard work."

"**Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty ... thirty...""**

"**"Thirty-nine, Sweetums," said Aunt Petunia."**

"Once again, a nickname of strength has been displayed. This one however shows the strength of his amazing mathematical abilities!"

"Sirius, shut up! You don't need to make a comment every thirty seconds!" snapped Hermione.

"**"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel, "All right then." Uncle Vernon chuckled." **

**"Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair."**

"**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR."**

"**He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried. "**

"Geez, how much does this eleven year old kid need," asked James. This, of course, caused the other two marauders to laugh at him because he was the "rich kid" around Hogwarts and he was spoiled immensely by his parents.

**"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction."**

"**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned."**

Sirius looked like he was about to cry. "How horrible…"

"What's wrong with you, Sirius?" asked Lily. Remus and James just smiled.

"He just really hates cats. He's almost like a dog that way," answered James.

"**"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again."**

"**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested. **

**"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy." The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there - or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug."**

"Slugs. Seriously misunderstood creatures they are," said James.

"Yeah, thanks Hagrid, "Sirius-ly," don't they know anything," quipped Sirius.

Remus reached over and slapped the back of Sirius's head. "That's for the stupid 'Sirius' joke you made."

"**"What about what's-her-name, your friend – Yvonne?"**

**"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia."**

""**You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer). Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon."**

"That's not any different than how she usually looks," muttered Lily.

"**"And come back and find the house in ruins." she snarled." **

**"I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening."**

**"****"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "... and leave him in the car..."" **

**"That car's new; he's not sitting in it alone...""**

"**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying - it had been years since he'd really cried - but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted."**

"AHH! I can't stand it! He's so spoiled!" cried James.

Remus looked over at him, "So are you, James."

"But not like that! He's whiny and stupid and greedy…and fat!" protested James.

Now Lily was the one who laughed, "I've been calling you those for years, Potter."

**""Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him."**

Sirius opened his mouth to make yet another comment about the different nicknames, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sent silencing spells at him at the same exact time.

"Well, I don't think Sirius will be speaking for a while."

"**"I... don't... want... him... t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs, "He always sp- spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms."**

"**Just then, the doorbell rang - "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically - and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat."**

James protested at this. "But chubby people can be rats too!" The ones who knew about Peter's transformation all laughed at this, while Lily was left confused.

"It'll be explained later," assured Ginny.

"**He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once." **

"**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside."**

**"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's,"**

"And turned into an evil creature and devoured Harry's face!" Sirius finished proudly.

"BLACK! How disgusting!" Lily shrieked.

"Allow me to do the honors." Remus reached over and slapped Sirius's face with a big pillow.

**"I'm warning you now, boy - any funny business, anything at all - and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas.""**

**"****"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly!" but Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did. The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen."**

"That means he is a wizard, right? That's accidental magic?" questioned Lily.

"Yup, he's definitely a wizard," replied Ron.

"**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. The next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly."**

"Yup, that's without a doubt accidental magic. That and being cursed with my crazy hair genes."

"**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls) - The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished."**

"**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens."**

"What? Why was he on top of the school?"

"Why don't you listen, Sirius, and then maybe you'll find out," suggested Harry. "After all, if you keep interrupting, you'll never know because we'll never finish this book."

"**Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney."**

"What's a chimney?"

"Um, it's part of a fireplace. It's where the smoke comes out."

"Why don't they just use a smokeless fire?"

"…they're muggles…"

"Oh…"

"**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trashcans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid- jump."**

"**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room."**

"**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles."**

**"... roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them." **

"**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly, "It was flying.""**

"Oh no… You shouldn't have said that Harry," said Lily sadly.

"**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" Dudley and Piers sniggered."**

""**I know they don't," said Harry, "It was only a dream.""**

"Ahh, how impudent."

"Moony… use words the rest of us can understand."

"**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon - they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas."**

"**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond."**

This caused another round of loud laughter to ensue.

"**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him."**

"They better not or so help me I'll travel into the future and… push them into the hedges," threatened Lily.

James laughed, "Really? After all the years of insulting me and threatening me, they best you can come up with is pushing them into hedges?"

"Repeatedly into hedges. And shut up, Potter. They're only eleven years old, so I can't hurt them too badly."

"**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first." **

"**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last."**

"Uh-oh… I have a bad feeling about this…"

"**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons."**

"They are extremely disturbed children."

"**Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place."**

"Of course he did… He is by his father after all…" muttered Remus. Everyone burst into smiles and laughter.

"I never knew you were so funny, Remus," said Ginny.

"**It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trashcan - but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep."**

"**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils."**

"He probably really looks like a pig then, with his nose all squashed."

"Remus! Just because Sirius is still muted doesn't mean you have to take over on the commenting," said Ron.

**"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge."**

**""****Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on." **

"Good."

**""This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away."**

"**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself - no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house." **

"**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's." **

"**It winked."**

"Wait, what?" asked Remus.

"It winked," said Harry. The marauders and Lily were very confused.

Lily spoke up, "But why?"

Hermione grimaced remembering their second year at Hogwarts. "It'll all be explained eventually. I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's how it is. Sorry."

"Well, then," proclaimed James, "read onward, Oliver!"

"**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too."**

"HAHAHAHA! Your son winked back at a snake, Prongs!" laughed Remus, tears streaming down his face, "It's like that guinea pig incident all over again!" Everyone except the marauders looked and felt very confused.

"Um, what guinea pig," Harry dared to ask.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"James clapped his hand over Remus's mouth and put a silencing spell on him just in case. "Remus! You swore an oath to never mention that again!"

"**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, and then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: "I get that all the time.""**

""**I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying.""**

"**The snake nodded vigorously."**

Remus opened his mouth to ask a question, but Hermione interrupted. "Yes, he's really talking to a snake. It's not just his imagination. Lots of stuff will be explained in later books. Keep reading, Oliver."

"**"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked. The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it. **_**Boa Constrictor, Brazil**_**, "Was it nice there?" The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo."**

**"****"Oh, I see - so you've never been to Brazil.""**

**"****As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could."**

"Haha…he's like a penguin."

**"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor." **

"Grr. I hate that kid."

"**What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened - one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror."**

"**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits."**

"The glass just disappeared? Like magic?" asked Lily. The time-travelers nodded in response.

"And the snake left its cage?" asked Remus. They nodded again.

"**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come... Thanksss, amigo.""**

"At least the snake is polite."

"Sirius…" warned Ginny, Lily, and Hermione.

"**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock, "But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?""**

"**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry.""**

Lily frowned, "Oh no! Not again. Poor Harry's going to get in trouble, isn't he?"

"**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go - cupboard - stay - no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy."**

"If I ever see this Vernon Dursley, I am going to punch him in the face. Hard. I don't care if he's alive yet and hasn't done these things yet, I'm still going to do it," declared James.

"Me too," quipped Remus and Sirius at the same time.

"**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food."**

"**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died."**

"That's because we didn't," said Lily dejectedly. "It's just a lie that they're telling you."

"**Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burn-ing pain on his forehead."**

The marauders and Lily all gasped. There was only one spell that could have green light and burning pain… the killing curse.

"He was hit with the killing curse?"

Harry nodded.

"But…how? Why? …what?"

Harry sighed, "It's a really long story. Seven books, in fact."

"**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house."**

"Of course not. Tuney hates me."

"**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family."**

"Why haven't Remus or I taken Harry away?" inquired Sirius.

Ginny answered this time. "There were extenuating circumstances that prevented you guys from taking Harry."

"**Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look."**

"That's because they're all magical! The wizarding world hasn't forgotten about him then!"

"**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang."**

* * *

><p><span><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE<strong>**: Many thanks for choosing to read this fanfiction. If you have some time, please review, even if it's just one word saying how you liked it. It's always nice to get some feedback. If there's something you liked or didn't like, let me know. Danke (thanks)!**

**NEXT CHAPTER: ****The reaction to the second chapter and the reading of the third chapter.**


	7. Chapter 6

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**** Thank you to Lunarmagi for the review; I'm glad you enjoy the story. **

**And for everyone…. Welcome back to the next chapter, enjoy!**

**COPYRIGHT NOTICE: ****I do NOT own Harry Potter. The characters and the book all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I am only putting my spin on the characters.**

* * *

><p>"Okay, that's the end of that chapter," said Harry as he closed the book. He leaned back against the chair, relaxing and waiting to hear what the reactions to what had happened would be. Hermione handed him a cup of Polyjuice potion, since it'd been a while since he last drank some.<p>

"So, Harry's definitely a wizard then?" Sirius asked. The time-travelers nodded in return.

Ron added, "And he's a very powerful one. But you'll find that out later."

"What about the snake? Why could he talk to it and understand it?" questioned Lily. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione all looked at Harry. They all knew why Harry used to be able to talk to snakes, but they weren't sure how much they should tell or how much Harry wanted them to tell.

"Um, well," Harry said, "Yes, he can talk to and understand snakes. So, yes, he's a Parselmouth, but that's all we can really say about that. It's a semi-major part in later books."

"But aren't all Parselmouths evil?"

Harry shook his head, "Normally, yes. But, this is a special unfortunate incident."

"Does Harry's life on Privet Drive ever get better? Are my sister and her husband and son ever nice to Harry?" Lily asked sadly.

"It gets better at some points and worse at others," Ginny answered. Harry had told her enough of his life at 4 Privet Drive that she could answer.

"My question's not related to the chapter, but," started Remus, "why do you guys look at Oliver before you answer a question sometimes? And, what is Hermione giving you that you drink every so often?"

"That's because Oliver knows the answers to some of these questions and we aren't always sure what we should or should not tell you," said Hermione.

James looked confused, "But I thought you said that Oliver was only a minor part in Harry's life. If that's true, then why does he know the answers and why does he dictate what and how much is said?"

"He knows the most and he's the leader on this trip."

Remus spoke up, "I think there's something going on here that you're not telling us. That doesn't logically make sense."

"There are many things that you are not being told. However, you will learn of them in time. Some things are better left unsaid and unknown for the moment," Harry said. "Now is there anything else you have questions on or anything else?" They all shook their heads. It was a relatively tame chapter and everything had already been said while it was being read.

"Okay, then! Who would like to read the next chapter?" Ginny asked. "I think we have time for one more chapter before dinner."

"Could I read it?" asked Lily. Harry nodded and handed the book over to her. And so she began to read.

"**Chapter Three- The Letters From No One"**

"HOGWARTS!" shouted James and Sirius excitedly.

Ginny glared at them. "I will hex you into oblivion if you interrupt every couple of sentences. Especially since the chapter hasn't even begun yet."

"That's because you're talking," Remus said cheekily, grinning, until he too was on the receiving end of a glare.

"**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his new racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches." **

"**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader."**

"And that's why James is our leader!" said Remus. Once again, he received a glare. Only this time it was from James and Sirius.

"Hey!" protested Sirius. "I am clearly the leader of this band!"

"That just means you're the fattest and stupidest…" Lily pointed out.

"Hey!" Sirius protested again. "I'm not fat or stupid." Everyone in the room burst into laughter at the insulted look on Sirius's face and his accompanying words. Sirius huffed and crossed his arms, muttering "I hate you all and I'm never talking to any of you again. You're all officially off my friends list."

"**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry hunting."**

"WHAT?" shrieked Lily, "How DARE they hunt my son!"

"Don't worry," Harry reassured her, "they rarely ever caught him."

"**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope." **

The marauders were horrified.

"He looks forward to the end of summer?"

"My son….likes school?"

"He's a…nerd?"

"Quiet!" Lily snapped.

"**When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny." **

James sighed in relief, "Ahh, that's why he likes the end of summer. That's a huge relief."

"**"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?""**

"He better not…" muttered Lily, before she continued reading.

"**"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it - it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said."**

Everyone laughed.

"Ahh, so smart and cheeky!" Sirius said.

"Say it fast and then run!" James agreed. "That's the only way to go!"

"**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before." **

Sirius shuddered at the mention of the cats. "Good. She shouldn't be fond of cats."

"**She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years." **

"**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobby sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later in life."**

Lily looked up from the book. "Sirius, if you even think of doing this or suggesting this to Dumbledore, I will put you in detention for the rest of your life here at Hogwarts."

"Well, I wasn't going to….but now…" Sirius said.

James leaned over to Sirius and whispered, "Don't worry; she didn't say anything about me doing it…"

"I'm sorry, but you guys are focusing on the Smelting stick? I'm worried about the horrific sounding uniforms," said Remus. They all nodded in agreement.

"True," said Ron. "They were definitely awful, especially on Dudley." He shuddered a little at the memory of seeing Dudley in his uniform the one time his entire family went to go get Dudley and ended up destroying part of the living room.

"**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up." **

"Wait for it," said Remus.

"Wait for what?"

"Harry's about to say or think something sassy."

"**Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh."**

Once again, laughter rippled throughout the group.

"**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water." **

"**"What's this?" He asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared ask a question."**

"Yes! How dare you!" proclaimed Sirius. "How dare you ask a question, you insolent child! Children should be seen and never heard!"

Lily giggled, "You sound like you should be in a Shakespearean play."

"**"Your new school uniform," she said." **

"Isn't it a bit wet?" James asked rhetorically.

"**Harry looked in the bowl again." **

"**"Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet.""**

"Haha! My son thinks like me!"

Lily grimaced, "Great, that means he's going to be a weird kid." James fake-gasped in return and was about to reply, when Lily cut him off by reading.

"**"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished.""**

"**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High - like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably."**

"What's an elephant?" Everyone looked over at Sirius in mass confusion. How did he _not_ know what an elephant was?

Lily chose to be the one to ask the one question they were all wondering, "Sirius…how do you not know what an elephant is? Haven't you ever been to a zoo? Or at least seen pictures of one?"

"Okay, don't really mean to be dumb here, but I am. I don't know what a zoo is and I don't know what an elephant is," said Sirius sadly. "I never got out much as a kid." That's when they all remembered who Sirius's parents were.

James went over to Sirius and whispered, "Hey, buddy. Don't be sad. You don't need them anymore. You have me, the marauders, and my family now. Wanna go to a zoo next break? I'll take you and you can see an elephant." Sirius nodded in return. Everyone in the room knew to some extent how hard Sirius's home life used to be before he moved in with the Potters and how neglectful his parents had been, but James knew the most. James was also the only person who could truly pull Sirius out of a funk that he got into when his parents were mentioned.

Remus leaned over to the time-travelers and Lily. "James is the usually the only one who can make Sirius forget about his familial heartbreak. They're closer than brothers." Lily nodded, surprised. She knew that Black and Potter were close and best friends, but this was the first time she had ever truly seen it. James clapped Sirius on the back and went back to his chair, so Lily continued on with the chapter.

"**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table."**

"**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat."**

"Harry's going to get his letter!"

""**Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper."**

""**Make Harry get it.""**

"How mature…"

""**Get the mail, Harry.""**

"And cue 'sassy' Harry."

"**Make Dudley get it."**

"And cue 'rude comment'"

"**Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

"Knew it."

"OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS, REMUS!" Hermione finally shouted. "Would you just be quiet for at least three or more sentences? Here I was thinking James and Sirius would be a problem, but you're the one that keeps interrupting!" Remus only nodded sheepishly in return.

"**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and – **_**a letter for Harry.**_**"**

"**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him."**

"We never even wrote to him?" asked Sirius. Harry shook his head in response.

Both Remus and Sirius were perplexed. "Why not?"

"You'll find out," was the only thing Ron (or any of the time-travelers) could say in response.

"**Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives – he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**The Cupboard under the Stairs**

**4 Privet Drive**

**Little Whinging**

**Survey"**

"Creepy how they knew you were in the cupboard, mate," Ron whispered to Harry.

"**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp."**

"Stamp?" asked James.

"What's that?" questioned Sirius.

"It's a muggle thing," Lily and Remus answered in unison.

"Ohhhh…"

James smiled, "I want one!"

Sirius nodded in agreement, "Me too!"

"**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter **_**H**_**."**

""**Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke."**

"…that was a joke?" Lily deadpanned. "How awful."

"**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope."**

"**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard."**

""**Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…""**

""**Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!""**

"No!" shouted James, Sirius, and Remus.

"Ugh, why would he do such a thing? Stupid kid," growled Lily.

"**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon."**

""**That's **_**mine**_**!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back."**

"You tell him, Harry!"

""**Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon," **

"HOGWARTS!"

"**shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge."**

"Well, that's attractive," Ginny whispered to Hermione, causing them both to burst into laughter. Hermione waved her hand, motioning for Lily to continue, while she and Ginny got their laughter under control.

""**P-P-Petunia!" he gasped."**

**D"udley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise."**

""**Vernon! Oh my goodness – Vernon!""**

"**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick."**

""**I want to read that letter," he said loudly."**

""_**I**_** want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's **_**mine**_**.""**

"You tell him, Harry!"

"Remus…." warned Lily.

""**Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope."**

"Oh yes, cause that's going to make them forget all about the letter," James muttered sarcastically.

"**Harry didn't move."**

""**I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted."**

Everyone covered their ears at this.

"Geez, Lils, you didn't need to shout…" Lily only smiled innocently in return.

""**Let **_**me**_** see it!" demanded Dudley."**

""**OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor."**

Remus and Sirius burst out laughing at the last paragraph.

"Care to tell us what is so funny?" Harry asked.

James grimaced, "They think it's funny, but it's not."

"But why?" asked Ron.

Remus managed to gasp out, "because the same thing _always_ happens to James," in between his laughter.

""**Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address – how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?""**

""**Watching – spying – might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly."**

"No, they're not. They're just automatic letters."

""**But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want – ""**

"**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen."**

""**No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer…. Yes, that's best… we won't do anything….""**

"Bad idea," muttered Remus, recalling how he originally ignored the letters.

""**But – ""**

""**I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?""**

"I hate him," declared James.

"**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard."**

"Uh-oh…"

""**Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing me?""**

""**No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it.""**

""**It was **_**not**_** a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it.""**

""**SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful."**

"Probably because he's never smiled before."

""**Er – yes, Harry – about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting a bit big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom.""**

"What?"

"Why?"

"He's being nice?"

""**Why?" said Harry."**

""**Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now.""**

"But we wanna know why…" muttered Lily.

"**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room." **

"I am going to spoil our kid rotten," Lily declared. "I can't stand how he's being treated. They treat him almost like purebloods treat me."

"_She said 'our' kid… Maybe she's warming up to me!" _thought James elatedly.

"**He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been cancelled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were fully of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched."**

"Sounds like he doesn't even need the second room if everything's broken. Seems to me like he needs a dumpster," said Remus.

"**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't **_**want**_** him in there… I **_**need**_** that room… make him get out….""**

"**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it."**

"Poor Harry…"

"**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back."**

"As he shouldn't; he's a bad kid."

"**Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly."**

"**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive –'""**

"And that's why they made him change rooms," Harry said, "to keep the letters from reaching him. But Hogwarts knew that he moved rooms anyways."

"**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind. After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand."**

""**Go to your cupboard – I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley – go – just go.""**

"At least Dudley is getting sent away too."

"**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan."**

"Haha, let's hope it's not a James plan," said Sirius.

"And why not?" asked James, offended.

"I know the answer to that one," said Lily. "It's because your plans never work."

"They do too! It Sirius, Remus, and Peter that make them not work!"

Remus shook his head, "James, it is definitely your planning skills."

"Face it Potter, you may have so-called brilliant ideas, but you can't plan a prank to save your life."

"I can too!"

"Sorry Prongs, but I'm with Remus and Lily on this one."

"Challenge accepted!"

"What challenge?" interjected Ginny.

"The challenge that says I, James Potter, can't plan a prank, but I am going to prove that I can!"

Lily laughed, "You do that. But later, at least wait until after this chapter."

"**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights."**

"**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door –"**

""**AAAAARRRGH!""**

"Stop yelling at those parts!"

"**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat – something **_**alive**_**!"**

"**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face. Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do." **

"Yup, he's definitely a planner like James."

"**He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink."**

""**I want –" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes."**

"I can't take this! Just let him read the letter!"

"**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot."**

""**See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't **_**deliver**_** them they'll just give up.""**

""**I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon.""**

"It won't."

""**Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought with him."**

"Um….yeah….pretty sure that it's not our minds that work in strange ways," said James.

Sirius nodded in agreement, "Too right you are, Prongs! I would only ever use marble cake to knock in a nail, never a fruitcake!"

"**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom."**

"**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up all the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out." **

"That'll work out well."

"**He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises."**

Lily groaned, "I don't like that song."

"I know, right? I mean at least hum something like movie danger music."

"**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman handed to Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious phone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processer."**

""**Who on earth wants to talk to **_**you**_** this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement."**

"HOGWARTS!"

"**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy."**

"Uh-oh… that can't be a good thing…. he's happy?"

""**No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today –""**

"Once again, that won't work…"

"That's only for muggles."

"**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one –."**

"Go Harry! Catch one!" cheered Sirius.

""**Out! OUT!""**

"**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw Harry into the hall."**

"HOW DARE HE! Harry's only a little kid!"

"**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor."**

"Hey Remus…" whispered Sirius.

"…what?"

"I think Hogwarts wants to talk to him. Only a thought though…"

"Good deduction there, Sherlock."

"Who's that?"

"Padfoot, there is much you need to learn."

""**That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!""**

"Once again, it's not going to work…"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…. Silly, dumb, fat man. Don't you know anything about us magical folk?"

"**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag."**

"Why does he even have a sports bag?"

"**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while."**

""**Shake 'em off… shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this."**

"What an idiot," said Hermione to Ron.

"**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up and alien on his computer."**

"Poor baby… what a harsh life you live."

"**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets." **

"Gross…"

"**Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering…"**

"I would too."

"You're doing it again, Remus."

"**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for the breakfast the next day." **

"How nutritious!"

"You too, Sirius?"

"**They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table."**

"" '**Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk.""**

Lily glanced up at the time-travelers. "Wow, Hogwarts is really determined to give him the letter. Is it like that for a lot of people?" They shrugged in response; they had never heard of anyone not accepting their invitation the first time around.

"**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**Room 17**

**Railview Hotel**

**Cokeworth"**

"**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared."**

"She's probably just as confused as Dudley and Harry are."

""**I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room."**

"Of course you will…" growled James under his breath. Just like him, the other marauders and Lily were getting fed up with Uncle Vernon and his refusal to give Harry his letter.

""**Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage."**

"Gah! I can't take this! Doesn't he know that no matter where he goes the letters are going to keep coming?" exclaimed Sirius.

Lily shook her head, "Apparently not."

"Don't worry you guys, it works out…eventually," said Ginny.

""**Daddy's gone made, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon. Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared."**

"When hasn't he been mad?"

"**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car." **

"Of course it did. The day's already bad, why not have it be even worse with bad weather."

"**Dudley sniveled."**

"…and a crying eleven year old."

""**It's Monday," he told his mother, "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a **_**television**_**.""**

"**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it **_**was**_** Monday – and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days of the week, because of television – then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday." **

"YAY!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!"

"**Of course, his birthday's were never exactly fun – last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. Still, you weren't eleven every day."**

"Nope, only for 365 days. Or 366 if it's a leap-year."

"Remus?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop ruining the magic of birthdays."

"**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought."**

""**Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!""**

Lily glanced up from the book. "Gee, I wonder how awful this one is going to be, since he thought the last hotel was perfect."

"**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain; there was no television in there."**

""**Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!""**

"Probably because he knows only a crazy person would go out in that weather."

"**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them."**

"And he's probably just as crazy as Vernon."

""**I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!""**

"**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house."**

"That's probably when most people would realize they had made a horrible mistake and go back…"

"**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms."**

"**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked shriveled up."**

"Oh no!"

"What?"

"That means Dudley and him are going to…..to starve!"

"Nah…"

""**Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully."**

"I want to punch him in the face…"

"**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all."**

"Well, of course not! Only absolutely insane people would go out there in a storm!"

"**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket."**

"Well isn't this great? Harry's going to freeze to death. Or starve to death. Or the shack is going to collapse on them all and kill them," muttered Lily.

"Way to be optimistic, Lily," said Hermione.

"**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry that he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now."**

"**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did. Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters why they got back he'd be able to steal one somehow."**

"Now, that's maybe a good plan, Harry."

"**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?"**

"Just kidding, guys!" said Lily. "Apparently, someone else is on the island and they're going to murder them!"

Harry sighed, "Just continue reading. Nothing bad happens."

"**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty… ten…nine – maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him – three… two… one…"**

"Please do!"

"**BOOM."**

"**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>AUTHOR'S NOTE<span>:**** Many thanks for choosing to read this fanfiction. If you have some time, please review, even if it's just one word saying how you liked it or didn't like it. It's always nice to get some feedback. If there's something you liked or didn't like, let me know. Thank you!**

**NEXT CHAPTER:**** The reaction to the third chapter and break time for the gang.**


	8. Chapter 7

**AUTHOR'S NOTE****: Thank you to "Proud To Be A Gryffindor," "crazywriter99," "Misty's pysduck," "majlena," "Raven Whitewolf," "Amazballs20," "pexygate," and "Guest" for the wonderful reviews.**

**And for everyone else, even if you didn't review, thanks for reading…. Welcome back to the next chapter, enjoy!**

**COPYRIGHT NOTICE****: I do NOT own Harry Potter. The characters and the book all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I am only putting my spin on the characters**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter Seven – Break Time<strong>

"Well, that's all for that chapter," said Lily as she closed the book.

Hermione stood up. "Let's all take a break. If I remember correctly, dinner is going to start in the great hall in ten minutes." Everyone nodded in agreement. It would do them well to get out of the room of requirement. They all stretched their muscles and ventured down to the great hall. However along the way, a debate broke out between Ron and Sirius.

"Treacle Tart!" _(Ron)_

"Acid Pops!" _(Sirius)_

"Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans!"

"Canary Creams!"

"Blood-Flavored Lollipops!"

"Chocolate Frogs!"

"Exploding Bon-Bons!"

"Jelly Slugs!"

"Ice Mice!"

"Sugar Quills!"

"Fizzing Whizbees, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Bat's Blood Soup!"

"Charm Choc, Chocoballs, Cockroach Clusters!"

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO ARGUING ABOUT?" Lily finally shouted in exasperation.

Sirius looked surprised. "Arguing? Were we arguing?"

Ron was equally surprised. "I didn't think we were arguing… were we?"

"Nope, don't think we were."

"Definitely not."

"No way."

"Not us."

"Must have been someone else."

"Or she's hearing things."

"I always knew she was crazy."

"THEN WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU TWO DOING?" Lily shouted. "And enough of that back and forth talking stuff!"

Sirius bowed dramatically to Lily. "My fair lady, you have our most heartfelt apologies for any annoyance or displeasure you might have felt at our obscenely offensive misconduct. My heart has been shattered by the mere thought of dealing a killing blow to your happiness due to my immature antics. In return for this display of such dreadful behavior, I offer myself up as an escort for yourself on your voyage to the place known as the Great Hall." By the end of his speech everyone was laughing especially Lily. While Lily did not particularly like Sirius Black and definitely did not approve of his crazy and often immature pranks, she had to admit that at times he was highly entertaining and made her laugh.

"I shall accept your gallant proposal if and only if, you tell me what the two of you were previously discussing."

"Well…." started Sirius.

"It started out with us both talking about what we would like to eat for dinner in the Great Hall tonight," continued Ron. "Then naturally that led to the talk of what we would like to have for desert."

"Which caused us to start a contest to see who could name the most types of wizarding candy or desert foods," said Sirius.

"Which I won!"

"You did not; you forgot Cauldron Cakes!" _(Sirius)_

"You forgot Chocolate Cauldrons!" _(Ron)_

"Crystallized Pineapple!"

"Fudge Flies!"

"Honey-Flavored Toffee!"

"Liquorish Wands and Pepper Imps!"

"Peppermint Cream Toads and Pink Coconut Ice!"

"Pumpkin Fizz!"

"Pixie Puffs!"

"ENOUGH YOU TWO!" everyone else shouted.

Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother and Sirius. "You are equally knowledgeable when it comes to deserts. Neither of you wins nor loses. Got it? The contest between you is over."

"Okay, Gin. No more," Ron said. Sirius nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

"So, since this walk is taking about three hundred times longer than it should due to our slow walking and always stopping to talk, you four can tell us four more about yourselves," Remus said, pointing to each group of four respectively.

Harry nodded. "Um, okay. What do you want to know?"

"Let's get down to the details right away. Are you guys dating anybody? Married? Engaged? Life-long bachelors or bachelorettes?" Sirius asked with a wicked twinkle in his eyes.

"Why do you want to know that?" Hermione questioned.

"Because he is a need-to-know-it-all when it comes to relationships. Anything that can or could be gossiped goes on his need to know list," James quipped.

Sirius grinned. "Of course. That and I don't know you or your history like I know everyone else's in the school."

"Um, okay. Well, Ron and I are dating. Ginny is engaged and Oliver is also engaged."

"How long have you been dating? And you Ginny, who are you engaged to? Is it Oliver?"

"Sirius, stop being so nosy!" Remus exclaimed.

Ginny started laughing, "Haha, I am most definitely _not_ engaged to Oliver. Haha, Oliver of all people." Ron, Hermione, and Harry chuckled too, knowing that she was thinking of how weird it would have to been to be engaged to the real Oliver Wood.

James leaned over to Remus. "Clearly we are missing a joke here."

"Okay, then who are you engaged to?" questioned Sirius. "And who is Oliver engaged to? And how long have Ron and Hermione been dating? And tell me everything else that's interesting."

"I'm engaged to someone you meet later in the book and so is Ginny, so we can't tell you. Ron and Hermione have been dating since the end of our seventh year," Harry answered. "And there's not really anything else interesting to tell you guys. Most of the stuff you guys want to know is mentioned in the books."

"Ugh. Fine," groaned Sirius. "Can we at least walk faster then? Cause I am _hungry_!"

"You're always hungry."

"So?"

"So, you will be fine until we reach the Great Hall."

"So….. what do we talk about now, then?" Remus asked.

James perked up as he thought of an idea. "We can always plan our new prank! Or we can plan a way to somehow talk to Dumbledore and slip in our question about his scar that's a map of the London Underground. Or we can just run to dinner and talk about the chapter and then talk to Dumbledore and then plan the prank."

"I thought you were supposed to be planning a prank all by yourself to prove you had good planning skills," commented Ginny.

James sighed dramatically. "Oh Ginny darling, that's for a later prank. Not for a prank right now!"

They all continued on their way slowly, splitting into groups of two as they walked. James walked with Ginny, Lily with Hermione, Sirius with Ron, and Remus followed at the end with Harry. When they were passing the last classroom before the great hall, Remus quickly pulled Harry into it.

"Hey! What are you doing?" yelped Harry.

"There's something you're not telling us."

Harry blew out a puff of air; he had always known that Remus was incredibly intelligent, he just didn't think that the werewolf would be able to figure stuff out this fast.

"What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

"Something is going on with you four time-travelers, though more specifically it's you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You're always drinking out of the same container about every hour, the others all look to you before explaining something or for you to explain something, and you seem to know way too much for someone who is supposedly not in the books but has a huge impact on Harry's life," Remus blurted out all in one breath.

"Breathe, Remus. Yes, there is something….but I'm not going to tell you. You will have to wait until everyone else finds out."

"I don't trust you, Oliver. I want you to know that. And I will be keeping a very close eye on you because of that," he warned Harry. Even though Harry already knew that Remus probably didn't trust him, it still felt like a punch in the gut to hear him say the words aloud. Swiping his hands through his hair, Harry only nodded in response.

"Good, now let's go eat dinner before the others notice we're missing." With that said, Remus stalked out of the room, leaving Harry slightly dumfounded, but with no choice but to follow.

The great hall looked like Harry remembered it as from his first few years at Hogwarts. Golden candles floating above added a soft glow to the lighting. Banners celebrated Gryffindor as last year's winners of the House Cup hung gloriously from the sculpted ceiling. The students sitting at the four tables wore an array of clothing from muggle to magical. Although there were many teachers at the head table that Harry didn't recognize, he was able to pick out McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Slughorn. He followed Remus to the marauder's spot at the Gryffindor table. It was clear by how the other students were looking at the group that it was highly unusual, if not unheard of, for Lily Potter to be sitting with the marauders along with four other unknown students.

"So, what took you guys so long?" Lily asked as they sat down. Clearly Remus' plan to not be noticed had not worked out.

Harry shrugged, "No reason, we just walk slower than you guys it seems." Though most of the others seem to accept this, James, Sirius, and Ginny knew that this was a lie and resolved to talk to either Harry or Remus about it later.

"Well, anyways, welcome to the great hall! Where great things happen! Like eating wonderfully delicious food prepared by the amazing house-elves of Hogwarts," Sirius declared.

"We know, Sirius. We went to Hogwarts too," said Hermione.

"Oh…that's right. I momentarily forgot."

James smacked Sirius on the back of the head. "Dummy. How could you forget that?"

"I put the word 'momentarily' in there!"

"But that still means that you forgot."

"Well, excuse me, sir! We can't all have perfect memories when we have empty stomachs to deal with also!"

"I don't have a perfect memory!"

Sirius scoffed. "Yes you do!"

"I do not!"

"Then how is it you can remember everything Evans has ever said or done to you and what day it happened on _and _her outfit on those days?"

"Sirius…."

"Oh, shoot….I probably shouldn't have said that out loud." Everyone looked over at Lily cautiously to watch her reaction.

"Let's just change the topic," she suggested calmly, though her blush filled cheeks betrayed her feelings of embarrassment. Just then the serving dishes in front of them filled up with food, distracting them from further commentary. For a while, they all ate in silence, savoring the break from talking and the taste of the delectable food.

When they were nearly all done Ron asked, "Do you guys want to talk about the book? That was kind of a boring-ish chapter, but is there any questions or…I don't know….stuff you want to talk about…"

"I hate the Dursleys."

"That is my sister you know, Black."

"I know, but they are horrible people. They act towards magical people like my parents act towards non-magical people and for me that kind of intolerance automatically places them on my hate list."

"Sorry, but you have a hate list?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, he does. And he revises it every few months or so," Remus answered.

"It's a very helpful list so I know who to avoid!"

"Anyways…." said Harry, trying to keep them slightly on track, though his heart was not really in it. For him, this was one of the reasons he traveled back in time incognito. To see how his parents and the rest of the marauders interacted with each other and the other students. To see them as they were without having to worry about them fussing over him as their son.

"I feel like there's not really that much to say about this chapter. The Dursleys are jerks and now they're on a creepy island during a storm with someone knocking on the door and Harry still doesn't have his letter and still doesn't know that he is a wizard," commented James. They all nodded in agreement.

"Who's knocking on the door?" asked Sirius.

Harry laughed, "Sorry, but we can't tell you that. You'll find out in the next chapter."

"Can you at least tell us if it's a magical or non-magical person?"

Harry glanced at the other time travelers who nodded in agreement. It wasn't like it was that big of a secret after all. "It is a magical person and it's someone that you all know."

"Ooh! We should take bets on who it is!"

James nodded, "I bet you 10 chocolate frogs it's Dumbledore."

"I bet you 10 chocolate frogs it's Remus or I," said Sirius.

"I suppose I have to bet too… I bet you 10 chocolate frogs that it's McGonagall," said Remus.

Hermione looked at Lily. "Are you taking place in this bet too?"

"Come on, Lils! Live wildly and place a bet!"

Lily sighed, "Fine. I bet you 10 chocolate frogs that it's Hagrid."

Ron clapped his hands together. "Alright, the bets have been placed and whoever wins gets 30 chocolate frogs." They were all so busy talking that they didn't notice Dumbledore walking up behind them.

"You are betting 10 chocolate frogs on what, marauders and company? And who are you four. I do not recall seeing you before."

"Oh my gosh! You're so young!" Ginny blurted out before covering her mouth in horror.

"Young? Well, yes, I suppose you could say that… Now who are you?" Dumbledore replied chuckling.

"Um…" began Ron.

Harry took over, deciding that honesty was perhaps the best way to go in this situation. "It's kind of a long story sir. But basically, we are time-travelers and we are returning to this time in order to change what will tear the magical and muggle world apart. We specifically need these four students right now and perhaps more students later or even a few professors. Please trust us that we aren't doing anything bad or unwise or anything like that and continue on our mission."

"In fact, sir, you could even say that you yourself made this mission a necessity," Hermione interjected. After all, his death had been a sharp blow to those opposing Voldemort and one of the hopes was that Dumbledore's death would also be prevented. Dumbledore looked at them all closely. Upon seeing the earnestness in their eyes, he nodded in agreement. For now he would trust them. He turned to leave but James' voice stopped him.

"Wait, sir! I…we… have a question for you that is of the utmost importance and could possibly end up being a life or death situation."

"Continue…" Dumbledore said carefully.

"Do you or do you not have a scar that is a map of the London Underground on your knee?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Please tell us! We're begging you!" interjected Sirius.

Dumbledore smiled slyly. "Who knows?" he asked, before tapping his nose and walking off. They all sat at the table dumbfounded for a couple minutes.

"Wait, was that a yes or a no?" asked Ron. They could only shrug in response.

"We'll ask him again tomorrow," said James.

Lily stood up and stretched. "Shall we read one more chapter before heading off to bed for the night?" The rest of the gang nodded and they all meandered out of the nearly empty great hall to go read one last chapter before much needed sleep.

* * *

><p><span><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE<strong>**: Many thanks for choosing to read this fanfiction. If you have some time, please review, even if it's just one word saying how you liked it or didn't like it. It's always nice to get some feedback. If there's something you liked or didn't like, let me know. Thank you!**

**NEXT CHAPTER****: The reading of the fourth chapter.**


	9. Chapter 8

**AUTHOR'S NOTE****: Thank you to everyone for the wonderful reviews. And even if you didn't review, thanks for reading…. Welcome back to the next chapter, enjoy!**

**COPYRIGHT NOTICE****: I do NOT own Harry Potter. The characters and the book all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I am only putting my spin on the characters**

* * *

><p>When they got back to the Room of Requirement, it had a completely different layout. There was a roaring fireplace surrounded by two person couches. What had been a tiled floor had been exchanged for a thick, plush red and gold carpet. The room was more homey and Gryffindor-like than it had been before.<p>

"I call sitting by Remus!" Sirius shouted before jumping on a couch. "Oliver can sit by Ginny. Ron can sit by Hermione. And Lily-flower can sit by Prongs!"

"Stop calling me Lily-flower! And why do you get to dictate where everyone sits?"

"Because, my dear, I am in charge."

"You most certainly are not!" Lily objected.

"Guys calm down, please. Sirius you are not in charge. I am. And as I am in charge, I say that the seating arrangements Sirius assigned are perfect," James interjected.

"You're not in charge either!" Lily protested.

The time travelers sighed. They didn't want to hear an argument between Lily and James. Hermione chose to speak up.

"How about we all just take a seat and I'll read the fourth chapter."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and much to Sirius' amusement and James' happiness (Lily was sitting by him!), they all sat in the spots Sirius had originally dictated.

Hermione began…

**Chapter Four: The Keeper of the Keys**

**BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. **

**"Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

"Stupid's one way to describe it…." Sirius mumbled to Remus. Remus whacked him on the back of the head.

"Hey! What was that for?"

Remus grinned. "Well, since you chose to sit next to me, that puts me in charge of making sure you behave."

"Dang-it! Anyone want to switch spots?"

A resounding "No!" came from everyone, then laughter.

"May I continue?"

"Yeah. I'll keep Sirius quiet."

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands - now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

"What's a rifle?" asked James and Sirius in unison.

"You don't know what a rifle is?" Lily said in astonishment.

James uncomfortably rubbed the back of his neck. For the most part, he had taken Muggle Studies in order to impress Lily with his knowledge of Muggles"Sadly, I am partially ignorant when it comes to muggle things."

"Only partially?" she asked jokingly. For once, Lily didn't mock him, and everyone in the room could see his relief.

"A rifle is a tool, I suppose, but it's used for killing, either people, or for hunting."

"So, he's going to kill the person on the other side of the door?"

Lily snorted. "I doubt he would ever be able to actually pull the trigger; he's a coward."

James looked puzzled. "Coward, I understand. Trigger, I do not."

"It's the part of the gun or rifle that the person pulls to shoot what they are pointing the gun at," Remus explained.

"Got it," Sirius nodded. "Continue on with the story."

**"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you - I'm armed!"**

"Don't most people have arms?" James whispered to Lily.

"It's another way to say that you have a weapon, in this case, a rifle. Now shush."

**There was a pause. Then -**

**SMASH!**

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

"It's Hagrid! I win!"

"Gee, the one time you gamble is the one time you win….." James grumbled. "I'll give you your chocolate frogs later."

"Same here Lily-flower."

"Do I have to have to give you chocolate frogs Lily? Can't I just give you something else that's not chocolate?" Remus asked.

"Nope! I know how much you adore chocolate, but a bet is a bet and I won!"

"Ugh….fine….." groaned Remus.

"Isn't it great to see them interacting?" Ginny whispered to Harry. He only nodded in response, barely hearing her, just as he had barely been following the book, being too enraptured by his parents and their friends.

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

**"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..."**

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

**"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

**"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

**"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yet dad, but yeh've got yet mom's eyes."**

"Aww, what a cute kid!"

"How would you know Sirius?" asked James.

"Cause you are so cute and with Lily's eyes, you'd be even cuter!"

"Aww! You think I'm cute?"

"Of course I do!"

"I think you're cute too!"

"Aww! Thanks James!"

"Um, guys can we get back to the book and you can proclaim your undying love for one another later?" Ron asked. They nodded and Hermione continued.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

"**I demand that you leave at once, sit!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"**

**"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

**"Anyway - Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here - I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."**

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with **_**Happy Birthday Harry**_** written on it in green icing.**

"Hagrid brought Harry a cake?" Lily asked with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah. And it was one of the best surprises of Harry's life," Harry replied.

"Remind me to give him a big hug next time I see him," James said.

"I'll remind you if you remind me," replied Lily.

"We could go at the same time."

Lily agreed. "Okay."

"Great! It's a date!" James exclaimed. The others in the room only smiled strongly at James and Lily's conversation. Hermione chose to keep reading before Lily could object to going on a "date" with James.

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

"And he's got his father's manners I see," muttered Remus.

**The giant chuckled.**

**"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."**

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

**"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**

"Hagrid used magic?"

Ron nodded. "You'll find out more in a while."

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea.**

"How does he have room for all that in his coat?" Lily asked.

"James, I want a coat like that!"

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

**"Yet great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."**

"Hahaha…..he called Dudley fat…."

"Yes, Sirius, he did."

**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

**"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts - yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."**

**"Er - no," said Harry.**

**Hagrid looked shocked.**

**"Sorry," Harry said quickly.**

"And he's apologizing just like his mother," Remus muttered.

**"**_**Sorry?**_**" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It' s them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yet parents learned it all?"**

**"All what?" asked Harry.**

**"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"**

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

**"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy - this boy! - knows nothin' abou' - about ANYTHING?"**

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

**"I know some things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff." **

"Oh Harry, he's precious."

"And he's easily offended like his mother," James said jokingly, grinning at Lily.

"Watch it, Potter, or I'll have to cancel our date."

"So….it's a date?" James asked shyly. Lily nodded.

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. **_**Your**_** world. **_**My**_** world. **_**Yer parents' world**_**."**

**"What world?"**

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

**"DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.**

**"But yeh must know about yet mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're **_**famous**_**. You're **_**famous**_**."**

**"What? My - my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"**

"Not as famous as I will be!" Sirius cheered.

"Good luck with that, Padfoot."

**"Yeh don' know... yeh don' know..." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

**"Yeh don' know what yeh **_**are**_**?" he said finally.**

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

**"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sit! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

**"You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"**

**"Kept what from me?" said Harry eagerly.**

**"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.**

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

**"Ah, go boil yet heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry - yer a wizard."**

"Well, that's one way to break the news to him."

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

**"- a what?" gasped Harry.**

**"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read:**

"Wait! You have to read it in McGonagall's voice!"

"Really, guys?"

"Yes!" said the Marauders.

Hermione huffed. "Fine, just this once!"

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL **

**of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

_**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme**_

_**Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

** Dear Mr. Potter,**

** We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted **

** at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find **

** enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**

** Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no **

** later than July 31.**

** Yours sincerely,**

** Minerva McGonagall,**

** Deputy Headmistress**

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"**

**"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl - a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl - a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:**

** Dear Professor Dumbledore,**

** Given Harry his letter.**

** Taking him to buy his things tomorrow.**

** Weather's horrible. Hope you're Well.**

** Hagrid**

"Hagrid's letters are always long and detailed and cheerful, aren't they?"

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

**"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

**"He's not going," he said.**

**Hagrid grunted.**

**"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.**

**"A what?" said Harry, interested.**

**"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

**"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"**

**"You **_**knew**_**?" said Harry. "You **_**knew**_** I'm a - a wizard?"**

**"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "**_**Knew**_**! Of course we knew! **

"Here we go with the rant," Lily murmured sadly.

**How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that-that **_**school**_**-and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

**"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as - as - **_**abnormal**_** - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

As Hermione read the last sentence quietly, tears spilled over Lily's cheeks.

"Hey, Lils, it's okay. You're not a freak. She is. And she has no right to say those things about you," James said as he slowly pulled her into a hug.

"He's right Lily," Remus chimed in.

"It shouldn't bother me anymore; I should be used to hearing it from her," said Lily.

"But because it does still bother you, it shows that you still care, that you still love her. She's still your sister. She's part of your family. And what your family thinks of you, says about you, and says to you is important to you and that's a good thing. When you stop caring what your family says and thinks, you have no family and you're alone in the world….and that hurts even more," Sirius said quietly, shocking everyone. Everybody in the room knew about his situation with his family. They also knew that he despised talking about it, so for him to bring it up was almost a miracle to them.

"Thanks Sirius. That means a lot," said Lily.

"And you do have a family, Sirius. You have me and James and his family. We're all here for you and we always will be," Remus whispered to Sirius as Hermione continued reading.

"Thanks buddy."

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"**

**"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!" **

**"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

**"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh - but someone's gotta - yeh can't go off ter**

**Hogwarts not knowin'."**

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

**"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh - mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it..."**

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with - with a person called - but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows -"**

**"Who? "**

**"Well - I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

**"Why not?"**

**"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was..."**

"It's just a name," muttered Remus. "Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing. People should know that by now."

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

**"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.**

**"Nah -can't spell it. All right - **_**Voldemort**_**. " Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this - this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too - some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches... terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him - an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway."**

**"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side."**

"Actually, he has been trying to recruit me," Lily said. "But I just burn all the letters as soon as I get them."

"Same for the three of us," said Remus.

**"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em... maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' - an' -"**

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

**"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad - knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find - anyway..."**

"Aww, Hagrid… Remind me to give him two hugs," said Lily.

**"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then - an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing - he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a Powerful, evil curse touches yeh - took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even - but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age - the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts - an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."**

"McKinnons, Bones, and Prewetts all die?" asked Remus in shock. "He took them all out?"

Harry nodded sadly. "There were a lot of casualties. Many of the brightest and best witches and wizards lost their lives in the war."

"That's what we're trying to change here. We want to give you this information so you don't lose so many and so the war ends soon, once and for all," Ginny said.

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before - and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel**

**laugh.**

"That's a horrible thing to remember. Poor Harry."

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

**"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot..."**

**"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

**"Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured - and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion - asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types - just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -"**

"I hate him…" mumbled Sirius.

"I know," Remus replied.

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley -I'm warning you - one more word... "**

"Oh….his wand is in his umbrella isn't it?" asked Remus.

"You'll find out later," said Ron.

"Ugh….later…" moaned James. Once again, drawn by James' voice, everyone noticed that instead of pulling away from James, she only moved closer; Lily had lain down so that her head was in his lap.

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

**"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**

**"But what happened to Vol-, sorry - I mean, You-Know-Who?"**

**"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see... he was gettin' more an' more powerful - why'd he go?"**

**"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back."**

**"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on - I dunno what it was, no one does - but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

"I wonder what happened."

"You'll find that out later too, Sirius."

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

**"Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."**

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled. "Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"**

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it... every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry... chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach... dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back... and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

"And the realization hits him. He really is a wizard."

"Shut up Sirius."

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.**

**"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard - you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

**"Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish - spell books and wands and -"**

**"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter' s son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled-"**

**"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

"That evil, fat, horrible man!"

"I hope Hagrid turns him into a toad!"

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER," he thundered, "- INSULT – ALBUS – DUMBLEDORE – IN – FRONT – OF – ME!"**

"Woohoo! Go Hagrid!"

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley - there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

Laughter rippled throughout the room.

"Nice one Hagrid!"

"We should add that to our list of pranks to pull on first years!"

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them. Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

**"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**

This time laughter exploded.

"Oh, Hagrid's brilliant," said Remus.

"A comical genius," Sirius agreed.

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

**"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm - er - not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff - one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job -"**

**"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**

**"Oh, well - I was at Hogwarts meself but I - er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore." **

"But I bet you he kept his wand pieces and they're hidden in the umbrella."

"Yes, yes, we've all heard your theory, Remus."

**"Why were you expelled?"**

**"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."**

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.**

"What a nice guy he is, sharing his coat."

**"You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."**

"Ew! Dormice do NOT belong in pockets!"

* * *

><p><span><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE<strong>**: Many thanks for choosing to read this fanfiction. If you have some time, please review. It's always nice to get some feedback. Thank you!**

**NEXT CHAPTER****: The reaction to the fourth chapter and the reading of the fifth chapter.**


End file.
